True Reality
by R Amythest
Summary: Yugi was always hurt by his Yami, and Ryou was being spoiled by his. A change is needed, and it is granted the tides of fate have turned...


R Amythest: I was being really bored, and I came up with this idea. . . really, it started since Yami Yugi was getting too nice for a yami, and Yami Bakura was too abusive. So, I thought about a time when they might've been different. . . Also, Ryou's and Yugi's scenes take place at different times. So I put the approximate time next to the scene dividers.  
  
*~*~*5:00 PM  
  
A hard blow came, and the wind whooshed out of his lungs as the child's small form came crashing down from the blow. The house shook; but the yami did not care, for the boy's grandfather was away. The child trembled in fear, and backed away slowly, painfully, and fearfully. But he made no attempt to speak, as that would mean more blows and more pain. The yami went over the boy, leering over, feet taller, intimidating him easily (and taking advantage of it.) He squirmed and tried to minimize his form, trying to disappear.  
  
Yami Yugi towered over his hikari, enjoying the obvious terror of Yugi. Yugi shook, trembling, right beside the sink's counter. They were in the kitchen, Yugi was hungry from searching for the Millennium Ankh, and he had wanted to get a sandwich. No such luck. Yami had obviously wanted something soft to beat at. Namely, Yugi. No longer amused by the frightened bundle, he strode over to the utensils drawer, pulling it out to full length. Then he drew out The Weapon, a sharp, ancient-looking dagger with the tip made of diamond. GENIUNE diamond, mind you; sharply carved to make a strong, efficient torture tool.  
  
This had been the daily routine for a long time. Funny thing Solomon 'Grandpa' Mutou didn't notice it. The problem was, Yami Yugi acted like some sort of guardian angel in front of the elderly man, acting 'sincere' and 'honest' to Yugi. Grandpa evidently didn't notice the bitter looks Yugi gave the spirit. And Yugi half-hoped he wouldn't notice, for Yami would surely torture Solomon and kill him. Making things worse. . . by a lot. Another obstacle was that he was certainly not stupid; he would only hurt Yugi in areas that did not show or affect movement- he didn't hurt him in the face, hands, or, just in case, the midriff, and didn't hurt so much that Yugi had to limp or write with his left hand instead of his right.  
  
Not that it mattered much. No one really noticed Yugi, no one really knew him. In school he had no friends, and the teacher didn't pay much attention to him. In some cases, this was almost advantageous, he could skip an assignment and not get noticed. Unless it was a big one. But Yami didn't take risks, and that might've been smart for him, if he were to pull this sceme off.

 But there was one being he couldn't hide anything from- Fate.  
  
Too bad he didn't know that Fate had been watching for the whole two years Yami had done this. And now, as he smirked at the fear of his hikari, he started riveting the blade up and down the already damaged skin of Yugi's back. Biting back screams, he tried to endure this once more.  
  
*~*~*9:00 AM  
  
Yami Bakura woke and looked down into his arms, where Ryou was cuddled up, making soft sleeping sounds. He sighed and snuggled into the hikari, breathing in the relaxing scent of his silver hair. "He's so beautiful," he whispered to himself, gently stroking the child's back, "if only he were purer of heart." Yami Bakura said this because although Ryou might look innocent, he was rather a spoiled brat. Not to say he was evil, he was just. . . spoiled. He would be defiant to the maximum, and quite boastful. Though in truth, he was a coward, and always will, or would in this case, be.  
  
Ryou's eyes shot open and he glared at his Yami. "What do you MEAN, 'if only he were purer of heart?!'" he demanded. "Do you say stuffs[1] behind my back all the time like this?! Huh?!" When Yami Bakura tried to reply, his retort was drowned out by a series of accusations. "What TYPE of legal guardian are you anyway?! I should've called Uncle Takahashi[2] to come over instead of letting you stay out all the time and teach you how to operate and all! At least I know HE loves me!"  
  
Yami Bakura sighed and grumbled. "Shut it, Ry. Now, tell me, WHO was spying on me, PRETENDING to be asleep so HE could sleep 'til noon?"  
  
Ryou pouted cutely. It was a trick that always worked. "ME, ya gotta PROBLEM with that?!"  
  
He groaned. "YES!" he said in exasperation. Shaking his head and sighing again, he continued, "Never mind, just get downstairs for breakfast."  
  
"Okay!" Ryou shouted as he bounced out of the bed, slammed the door, and ran downstairs, not bothering to change out of his pajamas. He slammed the door behind him, leaping down the stairs three at a time, as most 8-year-old kids did. Except he was 14. Yami Bakura grumbled, selecting choice curses and changing into some clothes in his soul room. Throwing open the door to the bathroom, he noticed the Millennium Ring by the sink.  
  
"BOTHER THAT KID!" he shouted out of frustration. He threw the ring halfway across the room, and it landed with a crash into the toilet. He breathed heavily before picking it out again. "I wish he were more obedient, I wish he were," he murmured, "but I just CAN'T discipline him. . . more like I won't. . ." Putting the soaked artifact on his neck, he washed his hands, noticing that Ryou had kept a salamander in the soap bottle, of course- removing all the soap first. Growling more, he checked the soap bar that was beside the other sink to find that it was carved, having the clear words, "joey luvs sea horse."[3] Not minding the carved soap bar, he rubbed some on and continued washing.  
  
When he was done, he wiped his hands on the towels only to find that they had evidently been painted- when Yami Bakura removed his hands from the towels, they were a sea green. Baffled, he looked back up to see a handprint shape of a lime color. He washed the towel in the sink, and it turned out the towel was originally yellow- it was colored by some type of aqua dye. Thankfully not permanent. "RYOU!"  
  
"NOT HOME!" was the reply. Cursing, he washed all the towels by hand. It was nearly noon when he came back down the stairs, with multi-colored hands.  
  
*~*~*5:30 PM  
  
Yugi bit his lip so hard it bled, as red streaks appeared on his shirt. Yami Yugi laughed cruelly as Yugi's frail body shuddered and whimpered. Suddenly, a door slammed, and a cheerful cry of, "Yugi, I'm home!" rang through the house.  
  
"Oh shit," Yami Yugi muttered. He jerked Yugi so that he was facing him. "Not a word about this! Go upstairs and change, say you're taking a shower!" Yugi meekly nodded, and Yami Yugi let go of him, quickly washing the dagger and supplying Grandpa with, "He's taking a shower!" Yugi limped upstairs, making sure not to spill blood. His other half grabbed a paper towel, wiped up all the blood on the floor, and threw it into the trash. The door to the kitchen was opened, and Grandpa walked in. Yami Yugi slipped the dagger into his pocket. "Hello."  
  
"Hi Yami," he cheerily replied, "why's Yugi taking a shower?"  
  
"He wants to go to bed early, there's an exam tomorrow." He said this mentally, too, savoring Yugi's deep, depressed sigh.  
  
"Oh, that's nice, good to know he's finally focusing on his studies!" Grandpa took no notice of the slight grin of satisfaction on the sinister dark's face. "I guess it's about time to make supper!"  
  
Yugi was upstairs in his room, his ear pressed to the ground, listening. His wounds were wrapped in gauze, and he had a large, billowy nightgown over himself, to hide the bulginess of the wrappings. He was, in truth, tired, and flopped down on his bed. But he didn't want to sleep, and with good reason, too- his Yami would take the time to do the unimaginable in the curtains of the dark.[4]  
  
*~*~*1:00 PM  
  
"You forgot to put on the ring. . . didn't I tell you before that I'd weaken if you didn't wear it?!" Yami Bakura scolded. His arms were crossed, and he stood, glaring- but barely able to keep this stance.  
  
Ryou stuck out his tongue. "Tha's the point!"  
  
Yami Bakura dropped his arms and exhaled, slightly slouching. "Ryou, I know you don't like being bossed around, but still. . . you're running too far. . ."  
  
"YOU'RE NOT GOINGS TO DISAPPEA'! WHY D' YA CARE?! THIS STINKS!" And with that, he jumped up the stairs- still skipping three at a time. Yami Bakura sighed and took the ring off, looking down at it.  
  
"Sometimes. . . I wish I had a different hikari." He looked out the window, with the bright sun streaming in. "Fate, Destiny, whoever. . . if you hear me. . . please make Ryou more agreeable, please?"  
  
And Fate heard.  
  
*~*~*5:30 AM  
  
Every morning, Yugi would wake before his Yami and Grandpa and pray. Yami would still be asleep, giving him this golden time for privacy. The sun would just be rising, painting beautiful colors across the sky, the gentle wind playing with the tops of trees. It was a tranquil, exhilarating scene. Yugi's clouded, depressed amethyst eyes would sweep across the landscape, and recite the same prayer,  
  
"Please, great Fate, 

Change my role  
Of Destiny and Time,  
Alter the future,  
So it will not be the past."  
  
He had been saying this for almost a year now, and yet, no response. He was beginning to lose hope in this. Doing this ritual again, with a sigh at the end, he turned away from the window, almost deprived of spirit. But Fate had heard often enough, and she decided it was time.  
  
*~*~*11:53 PM  
  
A lady turned around, her emerald-green dress sweeping the floor behind her. Her blonde curls bounced as she walked over to a large loom. There were multiple strings attached to each end, every one connecting to another at the other end, with beads in various places, along with curves. Every now and then, another would appear on each end, and connect. Glancing around with eyes green as her dress, she gave a quick glance around, then eyed the time. 11:55.  
  
"And what are you doing here, Fate?" a Dark Magician dressed in dark blue armor asked, levitating close to her.  
  
"Destiny, you have heard the constant prayers by two of the Millennium Item holders, haven't you?" Fate, the emerald-dress lady, calmly replied, eyeing the time. 11:56.  
  
"Ah, so you plan to change their destinies?" Destiny predicted, raising his staff. If he commanded, more strings would rise out of the right end- more goals.  
  
"No, Destiny, no use to create more destinies." Fate walked over to the strings, wincing as one labeled 'Yugi Mutou' tightened, and the bead wavered. She knew  
that the length of the string was the lifespan they had- and the bead was how close they were to achieving their destined outcome. But it the string snaps before it is achieved, they were. . . gone. The curves marked rough times of pain. The one labeled 'Ryou Bakura' released more string in the destiny end, and the bead went back towards the left end- the disappointment end. And there were almost no curves, only small slopes now and then, while Yugi's was filled with sharp turns.  
  
A Time Wizard hovered over. "Who didn't call me to the party? Someone not getting the right time?" He noticed the extremely tight Yugi string.  
  
Fate cast a glance at the time again. 11:58. "Not now, Time! Only two minutes. . . I need to switch two people's destinies!"  
  
Destiny raised an eyebrow. "Technically, you're allowed to make curves. Destinies are my job. Of course, you can't CHANGE curves. . . but you can switch destinies with Origin's and my consent."

  
"Get Origin, then!" Fate fretted. A Reborn the Monster[5] floated down.   
  
"Me?"  
  
"YES YOU! Do I have you two's consent to switch destinies?!"  
  
Destiny and Origin locked eyes. "I believe," Destiny said softly, "that it is for the better." Origin nodded, too.  
  
Fate watched the clock. 11:59. . . 55 seconds. . . 56 seconds. . . Fate's hands gripped the two destinies. 58. . . 59. . . with one quick motion, Fate pulled both apart and switched the two.[6] She received a shock and stepped back. The two strings blended together, each whole again. Midnight chimed, and it appeared the risky procedure succeeded. Fate panted, but smiled. "It worked. . ."   
  
Destiny grinned. "Good job, Fate."  
  
*~*~*12:00 AM  
  
"No, please. . . stoppit. . . stoppit," Yugi groaned, wriggling under his Yami's heavy grip. Tears welled up in his eyes and he met his Yami's heartless gaze. Then there was a flash, and a wave of nausea hit him. He moaned, then blinked worriedly at his Yami.  
  
"What am I doing?!" Yami Yugi gasped. He got off of his hikari. "I'm so sorry," he murmured, gently handing Yugi back his garments, "I must've been out of my mind. . ." Yugi dressed and looked back at his Yami, blinking again with confusion. Then he smiled.  
  
"Fate finally helped me. . ."  
  
*~*~*12:00 AM  
  
Yami Bakura was suddenly jerked awake by an occult force and looked down at the peacefully sleeping Ryou. 'That weakling brat!' he thought, surprised by his own thought. 'Great. . . and I'm hungry, too.' A wicked smile spread across his face. 'I love room service.' "Wake up!" he ordered, giving Ryou a light slap.  
  
Ryou's eyes slowly fluttered open. "Whaaaa. . .?" he blearily yawned.  
  
"I SAID get UP and fetch me a midnight snack!" Yami Bakura snapped, pushing Ryou off the bed and onto the floor with a hoarse "Ow!"

"Get me Ritz crackers with Philly cream cheese! NOW!"  
  
"Why?!" Ryou whined, still rubbing his head from the sudden violent outburst. He barely dodged the kick.  
  
"'Cause I TOLD YOU, that's why!" his Yami snapped back, making sure to hit him with the kick this time. "And hurry up or I'll beat you when you get back!" Ryou swiftly nodded and dashed down the stairs. Yami Bakura grumbled and snuggled into the covers, a slight smile licking his face. Ryou came back a few minutes later, without saying a word, of fear he'd wake up the monster inside his once kind Yami. But Yami Bakura was already asleep, and he didn't want to wake him up, for the fear of what would happen. He quietly set down the tray on the nightstand and crawled in with his Yami. And somewhat, it still felt safe.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*Epilogue*~*~*~*~*~*  
  


Two years. Many things can happen through that amount of time. And particularly in this case...

It's eighth period. The gym teacher blew his whistle. "Okay, change into your gym clothes! On the double!" he barked. Students scurried off into the locker rooms.

"I personally can't wait to do this course," Yugi chatted with his friend, Joey, "doing the limbo on some parts is really easy when you're short."

"Well, I got to be tall and now I think I can't," Joey muttered. "The limbo is for sissies, I like soccer, the man's sport!"

Yugi smiled. He made some friends now that his Yami was kind.  Because now he wasn't afraid that Yami Yugi would use them as his playthings. His Yami had really opened up to him, and all that Yugi cared about. Joey, Tea, Tristen, and Ryou- who was a new transfer student during the second semester, freshman year. He was eerily quiet and mysterious... carrying a secret buried within his fading eyes.

But it wasn't quite the time for Yugi to worry about him, here was finally something in Physical Education he could excel at! He grabbed his stuff out of his locker and entered gym class.

For 45 blissful minutes, he was free from the teasing insults that usually showered down on him from his peers, and he was almost sorry it was over.

...almost? That's certainly an euphemism.

Yugi was hot and sweaty after the flexibility course, so he went over to the shower room. The air was moist, it appeared that some showers were in use. But he knew his wasn't taken, no one took it anymore, it was scorching hot and there was a LOT of rust. Who else would use it?

He hung his towel up on the holder and flung back the curtain, only to be met with startled brown eyes belonging to a scarred friend...

*~*~*

The room was silent. Ryou's clouded eyes stared straight down at his lap, his bangs concealing his face. Yugi watched empathetically with sorry eyes. Neither of them spoke, tension all but floating in the air. A curious-looking Fate was hovering above them, unseen, as she was a spirit. 'So the two who have switched have met,' she mused, looking back and forth from Yugi to Ryou.

"Ryou..." Yugi said finally, startling Ryou from his reverie. He jolted up in his seat, looking straight into Yugi's eyes. Blushing furiously, he wiped his tears away, only to slouch over onto the table and let the silent tears roll from his eyes. Yugi quietly went over and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I-i-it's okay, you don't have to be scared..." Ryou shuddered from his touch glancing up at him, only to roll his eyes back to staring at the table.

"D-d-d-don't t-t-t-tell, o-on-n-ne-gai," he stuttered through sobs. "H-h-he'll k-k-kill me!"

"Who?" Yugi asked gently, patting Ryou gently on the back.

'You've spilled it now!' Yami Bakura hissed in his mind. Ryou shook his head furiously, his silver hair whipping around. "No one, just..." he groped for a subsitute for 'leave me alone!' "...it's all right!" Close enough, but yet so far.

Yugi hugged Ryou gently. "You can tell me..."

Ryou was shaking now. "I t-t-told you, n-n-nothing's wr-wr-wrong...."

The bell rang, marking the end of ninth period. Ryou abruptly stood up, out of Yugi's embrace. Wiping the remaining tears away, he bolted out of the room. Yugi could only sadly shake his head. "Believe me, I'd know...."  
  


*~*~*

"Home, Grandpa!" Yugi called. His grandpa greeted him with a smile and a nod. Yugi didn't notice too much, as he ran up the stairs and locked himself into his room. He flopped onto his bed. In an almost robotic voice, he said, "So that's where my destiny went." 

"What?" Yami Yugi came out of the Puzzle and cocked his head. Then his vision spilt. He could still see the bedroom, but he had another sight, of himself. . . drawing a dagger up and down his hikari's back... demonicly pinning him down to the bed... torturing him... Yami Yugi gulped. Yugi opened his mouth to reply, but Yami Yugi put on finger on Yugi's lips. "Never mind. I remember."

Yugi shuddered again and laid back. "Poor Ryou... he has that ring thing, remember? Isn't there a spirit in that?"

Yami Yugi closed his eyes and held his Hikari in his arms. "We can only hope there isn't."

*~*~*

  
Ryou limped up the stairs, his vision spinning around him. His body stung, and he felt like just collapsing on the stairs. 'Maybe I should've just told Yugi... he is my friend,' he thought.  
  
'Don't you dare think it!' a voice hissed in his mind. Ryou sighed. He reached the top of the stairs and opened the bathroom door. The room had red and pink wallpaper like the others; it concealed the blood from the many wounds. Ryou turned on the shower, taking off his clothes while waiting for the water to heat up. He looked back at the mirror, laying his eyes again upon the incriminating evidence of two years of abuse. Almost everything about him had changed. The marks went deeper than into the flesh, it bit down into his soul.  
  


He sighed, depressed, again, as he stepped into the steaming veil of water. He closed his eyes, letting his mind blank out and his tense muscles relax. It was a little on the hot side, which made his wounds sting, but he didn't care. It shifted his attention away from the razor.  
  
Ryou opened his eyes to find them a bit sticky; he had been unconsciously crying... again. He reached for the shampoo bottle on the holder, accidentally slipping and letting the bottle crash onto his twisted ankle.

  
Doing a small hop with a cry, he bent down to get it, allowing the stinging rays to spray directly into his wounds, allowing some to bleed again. Gritting his teeth, he resisted the pain, like how he did for quite a while. Always going along with whatever Fate tossed at him....

  
'Hurry up,' the voice hissed again, 'I want to PLAY, my puppet.'  
  
Ryou gulped. He knew what that meant. 'H-ha-hai, Yami.' Quickly rubbing the shampoo into his hair, he relaxed again. The pain in his back became subtle, and for a moment, it was like he was suspended in time. But a searing pain in his back brought him back to reality. Squirming to see his back, it appeared that shampoo got into the cut. Groaning, he leaned against the shower stall wall.  
  
'Hurry up, before I have to come out and drag you out!' the voice hissed again.  
  
Ryou briefly nodded and rinsed the rest of the shampoo out. 'Don't bother dressing...' the voice hissed again. Ryou's muscles tightened, but he nodded anyway. Drying off, he crept into his room.  
  
*~*~*  
  
And at night, when his Yami was content, Ryou would still look up at the stars, running his dark eyes along the sky and the horizon, remembering the time his Yami was kind. Looking upon it, he regretted he took full advantage of it, being the brat he was. Smiling slightly, he would pray his lesson was over, and that would be able to savor a taste of heaven again. With him. Though he didn't know whether to seek that dream, or the other- to just leave the land of cruelty he had known since the day, when both sides had went too far, and Fate shifted. To leave to a kinder place, now that he had learned his lesson.  
  
*~*~*Reference  
  
[1] yeah, he sounds sorta like someone who was picked off the streets... I told you he was a bratty kid...

  
[2] ^^;; familiar?  
  
[3] Seto/Joey Fans: GO RYOU!  
  
R Amythest: SHUT UP! Oh, sure, you peoples love this part, don't you...  
  
[4] I'm not making it R- it's not graphic! I only mention it once or twice, too! Um... no, around four times.  
  
[5] I know it looks more like a flag than a creature, just make the ribbons arms, the part under the ruby-thing a dress, and have legs out of it. And the ruby can be the collar-thing, and have a light-blue-haired gray-eyed girl's head over the ruby.  
  
[6] For a bit of clarification... they are broken just to the right of the bead and put together, so it will not affect the past, just alter the future. Oh, and it had to be midnight because if it were any other time, it has a greater risk of impairing their souls. (Hey, maybe I should write something on that!)  
  
*~*~*

R Amythest: *silenece* no, this is not the original version. The original version got chewed out by one of ChibiZoo's judges. ^^;; I think I deserved it, but my ego's lying in a hospital right now. *winces* Ow. But I think this is better... right?


End file.
